By: Jon Spellman on October 9, 2014
An Accomplished Thinker A Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking, Concepts and Tools is a remarkable little book for a number of reasons. Brief, compact, helpful, practical, all are words that accurately communicate characteristics of Paul and Elder’s work. Each of these is laudable and has been mentioned already in my colleagues’ posts and since…
By: Bill Dobrenen on October 9, 2014
“The older one is, the wiser one becomes.” Is this quote a truth or is it an assumption? It all depends on the person and the context. It is true that, oftentimes, an older person is wiser than a younger person. But it is not always true. And if I assume it is always true,…
By: Nick Martineau on October 9, 2014
This book left me with lots to think about. Ha…see what I did there? Dr. Richard Paul and Dr. Linda Elder do a great job of giving methods, tools, and examples of critical thinking in this compact book. It is a super quick read but I spent a lot of time reading and rereading these…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on October 9, 2014
In Ethiopia, Protestant churches are the next largest to Orthodox churches. Protestant Christianity is often associated with western mission aids because the people who introduced Protestant Christianity were from the western countries. Although there are some churches in Ethiopia who have partner churches in the west who support their urban and rural integrated ministries, the…
By: Deve Persad on October 9, 2014
“The attraction of Christianity is not simply the promise of a passport to heaven, where they (the middle class) can escape the travails of this world; rather, they are reexamining the life of Jesus and seeing that his teaching was often manifested in his healing ministry and compassion for the poor, prostitutes, and children.” (Loc.…
By: Mary Pandiani on October 9, 2014
When I was in 5th grade, my teacher told my mother never to expect me to go beyond high school in the area of academics. I’m not exactly sure what my teacher saw, or didn’t see, that would lead him to believe that I was not capable. However, I do know that I’ve always viewed myself…
By: Mary Pandiani on October 9, 2014
When I was in 5th grade, my teacher told my mother never to expect me to go beyond high school in the area of academics. I’m not exactly sure what my teacher saw, or didn’t see, that would lead him to believe that I was not capable. However, I do know that I’ve always viewed…
By: Dave Young on October 8, 2014
Who wouldn’t want to think more critically, who wouldn’t want to increase their ability to be fair, thoughtful, informed in their judgments? Certainly Drs. Paul and Elder’s book “A miniature guide to critical thinking[1]” provides the necessary insights and tools. One of my major motivations for going into this doctoral program was to stretch myself…
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on October 8, 2014
I once heard the quote, “Nothing effects your life more profoundly than your thoughts of God.” In light of Richard Paul and Linda Elder’s book, The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools, I am beginning to think the quote falls short of the full truth. There is something that impacts your life more…
By: Len Hjalmarson on September 25, 2014
Its been great fun to meet so many of you at Capetown! Many great conversations, often filled with threads that I know will be woven into a greater fabric over this three year period. Each of you adds color and life and helps to create that tapestry. This morning at breakfast I had two conversations…
By: Miriam Mendez on September 20, 2014
In reading Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t” I was struck by Jim Collins’ answer when asked what motivated him to take on huge projects. His answer was, “curiosity.” “There is nothing I find more exciting than picking a question that I don’t know the answer to and embarking…
By: Richard Volzke on September 20, 2014
Like the business and government sector, the church needs to embrace the dogma of greatness. One of my passions is to help churches or Christian organizations implement best practice business standards. I have found that many pastors, church leaders, and local church boards have minimal business knowledge. This lack of training has lead to legal…
By: Michael Badriaki on September 19, 2014
Jim Collins’s book Good to Great was a fun and educational read. Collins starts out with an admonition about the fact that “good is the enemy of great.”[1] This can be an energizing and convicting proposition for people who have already arrived at a good bottom-line in business and are in position to became a…
By: Travis Biglow on September 19, 2014
Thinking and feeling a combination of knowing As we go through life it is always a challenge to go beyond what we feel. I preach to people about faith a lot because I know that people are more prone to feel their way through life. But reading this book has made me conceptually a…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on September 19, 2014
Jim Collins, the author, of Good to Great and the Social Sectors: Why Business Thinking is Not The Answer, eloquently articulates why some companies become great and others do not. He details timeless principles usefully in any ministry context. Collins begins by pointing out what distinguishes good from great companies. He says that having…
By: rhbaker275 on September 19, 2014
Leadership and greatness are generally linked together. The significance is the way we define the terms and the concepts or ideology that undergirds our understanding of great leadership. What is greatness? An academic dictionary states it is “the quality of being great, distinguished, or eminent,”[1] which it turns out is only a tranche of meaning…
By: Bill Dobrenen on September 19, 2014
Almost exactly a year ago, I took a trip to Kiev, Ukraine. I went there to begin my research on an organization that taught “ServantLeadership” curriculum in several international universities. My mission was to discover how the teaching of the curriculum was impacting the university and the community around the school. The training had been…
By: Clint Baldwin on September 19, 2014
Jim Collins’ Good To Great book has quickly become a classic…and for good reason. In this work, Collins coalesces ideas that have been floating around for a long time and places them into a narrative that is graspable and implementable. Collins offers 6 major concepts in his text organized under three general categories. First he…
By: Julie Dodge on September 19, 2014
People often describe resilience as the ability to bounce back after hardship. I disagree. Resilience is made evident in the bounce back, but it is hardly formed in the bounce back. In order for a ball to bounce, it already has to be inflated. And how is the resilience ball inflated? Resilience is the convergence…
By: Carol McLaughlin on September 19, 2014
Some years ago I worked as a program coordinator with at risk youth for a public school district. I purchased Jim Collins book, Good to Great not because it was something I was required to do, but because I wanted to learn. The School District Superintendent at the time had chosen this book and the…
